THUNDER BAY – Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, today announced Government of Canada support to the Native Women’s Association of Canada to address the issue of violence against Aboriginal women and girls in communities across Canada. “Ending violence against Aboriginal women and girls must be a community effort, and the Native Women’s Association of Canada has a unique program to train and educate community leaders to understand, prevent and respond to all types of violence,” said Minister Ambrose. “Our government is proud to support their Evidence to Action II project, which we hope will protect and support Aboriginal women in dozens of communities across the country.”
“The Government of Canada is committed to supporting worthwhile projects like Evidence to Action II because they yield concrete results for women and girls in Canada while strengthening our families, our communities and our country. Through Status of Women Canada, the government’s support for community-based projects has nearly doubled since 2006-2007, growing from $10.8 million to $19 million – its highest level ever,” stated Ambrose.
The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) is receiving $1,890,844 over three years for Evidence to Action II [Du constat aux actes II]. Through this project, NWAC will help communities understand, prevent and respond to violence against Aboriginal women and girls. This will include training for police officers, educators, justice officials, frontline healthcare workers, social service providers and community leaders across Canada.
“This commitment shows that the Government of Canada and NWAC have a shared dedication to ending violence against Aboriginal women and girls. We appreciate their support for the Evidence to Action project,” said Ms. Jeannette Corbiere-Lavell, President of NWAC. “This project will help raise awareness of violence against Aboriginal women and girls and mobilize Canadian communities to address this critical issue.”
This project builds on Evidence to Action I, which received $500,000 through the Women’s Program of Status of Women Canada to develop tools and strategies to empower Aboriginal communities as well as individual women and girls to break the cycle of violence. Evidence to Action II will work to strengthen the ability of communities, governments, educators (including the Canadian Police College, post-secondary institutions as well as elementary and high schools) and service providers to address the root causes of violence against Aboriginal women and girls.
In addition to this important project, the Government of Canada is proud to support a variety of initiatives in communities across Canada that contribute to keeping women and girls safe. In the fall of 2010, the government announced it will invest $10 million over two years to improve community safety and ensure that the justice system and law enforcement agencies can better respond to cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women. In addition, the government has taken action to support Aboriginal women through measures such as the tabling of matrimonial real property legislation to improve women’s rights on reserves in cases of marriage or common-law partnership breakdown.